Last minute Christmas DIY - Easy Advent calendar ideas

Couple of days to December! I know, it's crazy!!
Have you put up Advent calendar? Don't worry, here is some Great ideas for busy mum like you☆

From Craft Berry Bush

 Paper cup buckets advent calendar 

 From Just the Bee's Knees

No sew mitten advent calendar

From Lora Jeans magazine

Origami advent calendar 

From Sweet Paul

Miniature box advent calendar

From A Few Things From My Life

White envelop advent calendar

From Design Sponge

Falling stars advent calendar

From Spoonful

A Cone - iferous advent calendar

Last one, if you can find 24 toilet paper rolls .... I think you can cut the roll in half, so you need 12 of them. It's depend on what things you put in it.

 From Morning Creativity

 Toilet paper roll advent calendar

Don't stress it, Enjoy!!

Do you know Japanese washi masking tape? It's very useful and lovely design masking tape.

Must have some for in your craft room!!

mt ex washi masking tape – Embroidery Flower

 Zakka81 - Japanese online gift shop  

http://www.zakka81.com.au

Whole Orange Chocolate Cake

When I got some oranges, I always make "Orange pound cake". But I made orange pound cake so many times and it's getting board, still nice but I wanna try something different this time.
When I googled, I found unusual recipe (in Japanese) that use whole orange! Normally it use just orange zest for this cake, but this one is not!! :D
So here is how...

** Whole Orange Chocolate Cake **

Ingredients ( 1 loaf )
 170g Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
 170g Sugar 
 3 Eggs (lightly beaten)
 200g Flour
 2 tsp Baking powder
 85g Chocolate, cut into a small pieces or use chocolate chips
 2 Oranges (If it's not organic, wash well) 

Preparation
 # Preheat oven to 170 ℃. (338 F)
 # Sift flour and baking powder together
 # Generously butter a loaf tin (or any other cake tin) or  Line with non-stick baking paper and set it aside.

 #Prepare the oranges. Zest the orange then remove the skin, pith, membranes, and seeds of a citrus fruit and separate its wedges. ( check this page for how to cut the orange ... http://lifeflix.blogspot.com.au/2008/04/how-to-cut-orange-segments-supreme.html)
Cut into 1/2 inch pieces. If you can get the juice from the scratch, keep it in the bowl.

Instructions
 1. In the bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add sugar mix well.
 2. Add eggs little by little, mix well each times. Then add all oranges ( zest, fruits, juice) and chocolate chips. 
 3. With wooden spoon, fold the flour into the mixture. Don't over mix!
 4. Pour over the loaf tin, bake around 40 min or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Good luck☆

********************************

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Caramel Apple Cake

This is apple cake BUT very soft and light.

Simple ingredients easy to make, BEST apple cake recipe in my life!!

**Caramel Apple Cake**

I used Bread loaf tin but you can use round cake tin, square tin (around 18m is better )etc...

Ingredients
2 Apples (peeled, cored, thinly sliced but not very thin)

20% Sugar from Apple's weight (If it's 300g of Apple, 60g Sugar)

10% Butter from Apple's weight (If it's 300g of Apple, 30g Butter)

1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder 

★2 Eggs 

★50g Sugar

100g Flower (Shift 3 times)

60g Butter (melted)


Instructions
1. Preheat oven 180℃. Brush a cake tin with melted butter to grease. Line the base and side with non-stick baking paper.

2. Make the caramel apple, put the apple, sugar and butter and cinnamon in a pan over low-medium heat. stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is dark amber, take time, until almost all of the moisture is gone.

3. Use an electric mixture in top pan of a double boiler until thick and pale. Sift the flour over the egg mixture and gently fold through the butter.

4.Add melted butter and fold through the butter. Then add caramel apple and mix.

5. Pour over the tin and bake around 20-25min or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

  

This original recipe is from very famous Japanese cooking community site called Cookpad where you can find whatever you want to cook and bake!!
Original recipe from Marimo1016  -->  http://cookpad.com/recipe/449965

**Mother's day 13th of May!!**
Don't forget to buy something special for you Mom!!

Zakka 81 - Japanese online gift shop

Folding fans, bag, accessories, scarves...etc

Pumpkin Cheese Soufflé cake with hard caramel top

I made Pumpkin Cheese Soufflé other day. It's should be more fluffy but because of different type of pumpkins, it made my cake little bit wet. (I used Jap pumpkin.)
You can use sweet potato instead of pumpkin. More less moisture.

Soufflé is a steam bake cake, you need baking tin and some other deep tin.

** Pumpkin Cheese Soufflé **
18cm round cake tin

Ingredients
* 200g Pumpkin pure (Make from fresh pumpkin, steam or microwave until soft then put into food processor or juicer or just mushed it)
* 180g Cream cheese (Room temperature)
* 30g Sugar
* 3 Egg yorks
* 1 and 1/2 table spoons Fresh cream
* 2 Table spoons Corn flower
* 2 teaspoon White rum (Optional)

* 3 Egg whites
* 60g Sugar

Instructions
1. Preheat oven 160 degrees (Fahrenheit 320)
2. In the bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth
3. Add egg yorks, white rum, fresh cream and mix, when combined all of them add corn flower and mix well.
4. Make Meringue. In a clean bowl of your electric mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
5. Add 1 spoonful of meringue to pumpkin gently fold, then add half of remaining meringue to the pumpkin mixture and fold, and add remaining meringue and fold. Don't over fold it!
6. Pour into cooking papered tin(the cake will get taller than tin, set the cooking paper bit higher than tin). Wrap the cake tin base with tin foil if you use loose bottom tin (protect from water)


7. Put baking tin into water through tin (without pouring the hot water yet, you will know why later)
8. Pour pumpkin mix from above into the baking tin
9. Pour hot water into the water through now, about 1 – 1.5inch high (The pumpkin mix has weight if you pour water first then put your baking tin with cheesecake mix into the water through, water may overflow and the water through may get too hot)
10. Bake around 60 minuets, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

11. Let the cake cool completely before removing from pan. The cake will shrink but it's fine.
12. Leave it into the fridge for couple of hours before serve.


** Caramel top **
Ingredients
* 100g Sugar
* 3 table spoons water

Instructions
1. In the pan, put sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat
2. Gently swirl the pan once to even out the color. Continue to cook until the sugar turns medium amber. (Once the mixture begins to color, it will darken very quickly, so keep an eye on it.)
3. Pour above from the cold cake!

This original recipe from very famous Japanese cooking community site called Cookpad where you can find whatever you want to cook and bake!!
Original recipe from cookpad by HILO manma


Don't forget mother's day next month!!
Find some unique gift at Zakka 81 Japanese style☆
http://www.zakka81.com.au

Wall decoration challenge!! 2

I tried to make something for my wall on every month, but I missed last month! :( I thought its "easy peasy!" .... well, I'll do my best!

This month I made "Toilet roll art", I found this idea from Pinterest as usual.
I had collected the core of toilet roll since last month, It took long time to collect, specially live in here just two of us, my partner and me. Men doesn't use toilet paper not so much like girls!
Anway finally I had enough to make this!

Ta daaa~~!!
It's peacock inspired toilet roll art. I used acrylic paint to paint inside of the roll. It has glitter gold but hard to see in these photos...
You just need to cut the roll around 2cm wide and stick with glue!
How easy is that!!

And I made another one with left over rolls ...
That is.......

Cherry blossoms!!
Bend in the one side to make petals.I really LOVE this one. Just now, cherry blossoms season in Japan and I miss it so much!
But I can see my cherry blossoms at home every day ;)
I will make more when I got more toilet roll. This is very fun craft!!



Hey, do you know mother's day is next month!!
Find unique gift at Zakka81 Japanese style ☆

Easter Ideas! 2

Now, let's talking about food!
I found lot's of yummy, funny Easter foods!!

((Click the title or images to jump original pages))

*Spring chick Cupcakes ( From Martha Stewart)Baby chicks with their coconut feathers, nutty beaks, and confectionery details.... So adorable!!

*Easter Cupcake Baked in Real Eggshells (From Cupcake project)

Do you want to make "WOW!" to your families or friends? This is the one!! How cool is that!

*Hidden Surprise Easter Egg treats (From Kellogg's Rice Krispies)

Kids will love these crisp eggs!!

*Rainbow jello Easter egg ( From Thrive )Wow!! This is sooo fantastic! I wounder I can use real eggshell to make this... unnnn...
Don't worry, if you can't make this super rainbow egg you can make this...

* Easter Creamy Jell-o Jigglers (From kraft foods)This is mixing Jell-o and Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding! Easy!!

*Baa Baa Black and White Sheep Treat (From Southern Living)
Many smart people out there!! This is not cooking, just stuck together! Awesome!!
Here is another no bake treat...

*Un-Baked Cookie Nests (From Kitchen Simplicity) I think I will make this... What a nice little nest to fill up the joy!!

*Caramel Marzipan Easter Egg (From Baker's Corner )It's no baking as well. This is a great decorations for the cake!!
For the last....

*Devilish Chiks! (From Savoring time in the kitchen)Look these little peeps!! OMG it's so funny!!


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Easter Ideas!

Easter is coming soon, 8th of April!! (from Good Friday 6th) Did you know that?
Are you going to do something? I'm not sure what we going to do. BUT I'll share some Easter decoration, food, craft ideas!!

Today I gonna show you great craft, decoration ideas.

((click title or image to jump original pages))

*Flower arrangement in eggshells (from Martha Stewart)It's very pretty!! Hollowed-out eggshells make naturally beautiful vases for tiny flower arrangements.

*Natural dye Easter eggs (From Creative Living)
Decorating eggs by attaching leaves before dipping them in dye from berries, herbs, onions and veggies... Beautiful!!

*Mosaic Easter Eggs (From Specialty Art Glass)This is very creative!! I really want to try this!

*Bunny Napkins (from Good housekeeping)
Wow!! How clever and cute!!! I do Origami(folding paper) but this is just great!

*Embroidery floss Easter eggs (From Crafts for all season)This one using water balloons but you can also use normal, big balloons!
What a fun!!

*Easter egg candy pouch ( From Simple as that)
If you are very busy, how about this? Great idea for busy mom!!

★Don't forget to get some presents!!
http://www.zakka81.com.au

Milk bottle case

I found this idea from the Pinterest, the original web site is not in English, but you can easily see how to make it.
It's very easy to make and useful craft. only take around 10 minutes! Easy craft for the weekend ☆
Original page (http://elmundodelreciclaje.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/recicla-un-bidon.html)I used 3 Litter milk bottle. Rinse it and Peel off the stickers.Mark the guide lines, I marked 5cm from the bottom, and another 5 cm for the folding inside cover. As for the top lid I took 10 cm. And just cut it!
Put little hole in it and tied elastic (I used hair tie) with wire.
You can use Velcro or button or some other material for instead the elastic band.
Now I need more Milk bottles!!

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How to make Origami Ornament Ball (Kusudama)

Have you try to do some Origami (Folding papers) work? Do you think it's very difficult? hard to do??
I'm sure you need practice at first, but once you use to folding papers, this flower ornament ball is a piece of cake!!
I found this tutorial on youtube, you need 60 piece of Origami paper (square paper) and glue. Oh, and specially you need patient!! ;) I recommend to use Origami paper because the color. When you fold some "both side same color" paper doesn't looks great, still fine but two color combination is much better.
I was cut the origami (mine was 15cm square) in four equally (make 7.5cm) and my origami ball size is around 11cm diameter.

Ok, here is the link...
Anniversary, Designed by Mio Tsugawa

Enjoy your Origami!! :D

Bubble wrapped flower vase

I bought a gorgeous artificial flower today, unfortunately fresh flower is always very expensive in Australia. I had always bought some fresh flowers when I was in Japan. It's cheap enough to buy every week.
Anyway, I bout artificial flower but I didn't have a vase that suits it. I found empty glass jar (it was in tomato paste) and it's perfect size!! but I want a bit some design. Somehow I thought "wrap it with bubble wrap" it has like a polka dots pattern and of course nice protection (if you dropped on the floor)

Here is how... super easy!!
You need a glass jar, bubble wrap, scissors, acrylic paint (your favorite color) and glue, ribbon to dress up.

1. Measure the size of the jar and cut the bubble wrap.
2. Use sponge to put some acrylic paint on to the bubble wrap. (like stencil work) then dry it.
3. Put some glue on the jar and wrap the bubble wrap on it.

4. I wrap ribbon around the neck because of I just cut the bubble wrap into rectangles and the jar becomes thinner as it goes to the neck. And looks more prettier :)

Cute polka dots shade...